


o, carcosa!

by missdulcerosea



Series: wonderful wednesdays, fluffy fridays [6]
Category: The King in Yellow - Robert W. Chambers
Genre: Bedtime Stories, Family Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24299461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missdulcerosea/pseuds/missdulcerosea
Summary: Queen Cassilda tells her daughter a bedtime story about a land far, far away.
Relationships: Camilla & Cassilda (The King in Yellow)
Series: wonderful wednesdays, fluffy fridays [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731229
Kudos: 1





	o, carcosa!

“Could you tell me a story, Mama?”

This is the way it has been every night for as long as Camilla can remember. Her mother—Queen Cassilda of Yhtill, ruler of a planet-spanning empire that she says her daughter will become queen of one day when she’s all grown up—will set aside paperwork and duties that eight-year-old Camilla can’t understand to tell her stories. She reaches over the layer of silk blankets for her mother’s hand and squeezes tightly. They look so alike: Light brown skin, curls of dark hair the color of oak with eyes to match. But with her mother her brown hair is graying, and there are wrinkles patterned around her eyes. 

“Of course, dear. Something old or something new?”

She sits up in bed. “Something old, please. Tell me about Carcosa.”

So she sweeps Camilla away to the land of Carcosa, to a land with black stars that hang high in a yellow sky. She tells Camilla of twin suns and of a city where no one really looks entirely human, of ballgowns heavy in pearls and magic that no one quite understands, and of the king who rules them all—Hastur, shrouded in a yellow cloak who sits on his throne. She tells stories of the heroes of the lost city who protect the land from harm. And Camilla sits breathless in bed like she has all the nights before.

“I wish I could go there someday. I want to meet the king, too!”

Cassilda sighs, tucks stray brown hair away from her daughter’s face. “Oh, dear. I suppose the stories haven’t been enough.”

“I can’t help it. I want to know more and see it for myself someday. I want to talk to the king—maybe if we formed an… alliance? Is that the right word, Mama?”

“Yes it is.”

“An alliance, we’d be able to see it. And an alliance would be good for Yhtill, too. It’s like the city’s calling for me to visit.”

Cassilda pulls her daughter close into a tight hug. Camilla wraps her small arms around her and closes her eyes. Maybe she won’t visit Carcosa now, but when she’s older she’ll get to see that fabled city with black stars lying in the sky for herself. Or at least when her mother kisses her good night and leaves her to go to sleep, where maybe she’ll catch a glimpse of _her_ vision of Carcosa distorted by her dreams.

“You’d make such a wonderful queen, Camilla.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is a sample of a longer story i'm writing and, well... the rest of it isn't nearly as fluffy. but i did have fun with this! ;w;
> 
> thanks for reading! please take care <3


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